Play with food

A blog for those who think food should be fun... for those who cook it and those who consume it. Tips, recipes, ideas and suggestions, links to the best ideas in food, best places to find food,and a place to find new ways to make memories with food whether you are a novice or an expert.

Friday, February 27, 2015

I only learned about these potatoes in the last year , and was so fortunate to see a video of how to make the thin slices without cutting through- place the potatoes on a wooden spoon and cut down. The rim of the spoon will stop you and you can have hassle-free Hasselbeck potatoes- crisp and yummy!

Friday, February 20, 2015

Seriously it has been cold as balls here for the last week, so I made a meatball soup with turkey meatballs that was a hybrid of a couple of Pinterest ideas- it turned out amazing and the broth would, as my dad used to say "make your tongue slap your brains out" Here's the recipe - if you can call it that:

Put broth in crockpot and let cook on low for 4 hours to meld flavors. Fish out star anise and add the following:

1 bag turkey meatballs, 2 cups leaf spinach (I used frozen since that is what I had but I know that 4 cups of fresh would be better), 2 cups corn kernals Let cook another 3 hours on low and then serve-It was delicious!!!! Perfect for these cold winter days ut not as heavy as some other soups.

Friday, January 30, 2015

On a visit to see my Mom in Winchester, VA we went to an orchard/farm market on the way out of town- Marker-Miller Orchard. We saw a huge line, and found out that they made fresh Apple Cider Doughnuts and so we followed the line halfway around the store and waited as tray after tray of these warm beauties came out until it was our turn- totally worth it, the smell alone was heavenly!!!!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Many of you with an interest in food, particularly ethnic foods may have the same problem I do. Indian, Chinese, and other ethnic dishes often require you to buy a number of special ingredients, that you have to refrigerate once opened. In my fridge harissa, black bean paste, and tapanade fights for space with 5 kinds of mustard, three or 4 kinds of jellies and jams and three nut butters, making for confusion and frustration, particularly when these lesser-used ingredients find their way yo the inner reaches of the fridge and I am looking for them desperately. It often results in me buying an ingredient I was sure I had but couldn't find, only to find it later, and then I have to find room for 2 of the same things!!!!

Well thanks to so kitchen bins I bought at Costco (so much
cheaper than the same bins at Bed, Bath, and Beyond), I spent a couple of hours and organized all these ingredients and condiments into bins and I feel like a choir of angels should sing everytime I

After!!!

open the fridge door! Not only are these ingredients grouped to make it easier to find what I am looking for, I can simply slide the bin out and see all the way to the back without moving things emptying the fridge, etc.

How do you deal with the plethora of ingredients that come with being a foodie?

Thursday, January 22, 2015

It has been a very spotty year for Play with Food - with some family health issues and an increased freelance workload meant I had to focus on the writing I have to do and left me with little time to do the fun posting that I love to do here. Demands on my time have taken meals and food from a creative expression to quick necessity. However, there have been some notable food-related events, and I want to begin regular posting by sharing one of the biggest-a 40th anniversary trip for my husband and I to New York City.

In trying to think of something to commemorate something as big as being married for 40 years, I
agonized. Neither my husband nor I are big jewelry people, and a party would just be a ton of work for me, but then I had an inspiration- how about a trip? But the question was-to where? We both love the beach, but we go there at least a couple of times a year, and so it didn't seem special enough, but then I thought-why not NYC? Gavin had been there before with my daughter for the NFL draft but I had never been, and there would be things there that both of to enjoy and a great way to make new memories to carry us into the next several decades. An additional advantage was that I could meet a new client there and explore new freelance options while there.
Now here's the rub-my husband is not a flier, so I needed to find a way to get to New York that did not involve my husband driving more than 8 hours (I was hoping to continue our marriage and stay out of jail). So I began making arrangements. Amtrak tickets to and from New York, choosing a hotel convenient to midtown Manhattan so we could get to things easily, deciding how long to stay and what we should try to do while there. Except for the travel and hotel the next biggest expense would be food, but I was determined that we could not skimp there - after all, what is an anniversary without an anniversary dinner? I knew there were places Gavin had gone to with Bridget when they were there - Evergreen Diner, Juniors, Toasties - that my husband would want to go back to,but I was motivated to find some special fine dining experiences while there. But how to eat well in the most expensive part of the city? Groupon turned out to be a great resource- I looked to see what was available in NYC in the area of our hotel, and used Yelp and TripAdvisor to select some great options (more details in future posts).
I really wanted to keep this a surprise until the day before we left,but discretion is the better part of valor so about a week before our departure, I set this at his place on the table. Needless to say,he was first mystified and then delighted! We were ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple!!!!